Now Commenting On:

Meadows hits first homer off fellow touted prospect

2014 MLB.com Top Prospects: Austin Meadows is a left-handed hitter with a smooth swing and has a very advanced approach at the plate

By Teddy Cahill
/
MLB.com |

Outfielder Austin Meadows, the Pirates' No. 4 prospect, hit his first home run of the season Tuesday, but it wasn't enough to lead Class A West Virginia to victory against Hagerstown and Nationals top prospect Lucas Giolito. The Suns defeated the Power, 10-6.

Meadows, ranked No. 49 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list, hit a two-run home run off Giolito in the first inning. With the blast, Meadows snapped Giolito's 12-inning scoreless streak and became the first player to homer off the big right-hander since Cubs' No. 2 prospect Javier Baez took him deep in the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game on July 13.

Meadows finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBIs and one run scored. His first home run came in his 101st plate appearance of the season after he missed nearly three months due to a hamstring injury he suffered during Spring Training.

Meadows returned to action at the end of June and made brief stops in the Gulf Coast League and the Appalachian League before joining West Virginia last month. In 18 games with the Power, he is hitting .321/.354/.410 and has scored eight runs.

Teddy Cahill is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tedcahill. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.